Nebulite
by Drunken Hamster
Summary: An SU fan gets sucked into the universe and has to deal with the complications of getting back. Or NOT getting back. Then again, he's not the only one that has to stay level when Steven's body is inhabited by another person. And that's beside the glaring question of who or what caused such an event anyway. Keeping it as real as a Self-Insert can get. Rated T for language and stuff.
1. The Beginning

**A/N:**

 **Thanks for clicking!** **Enjoy the fic! Be sure to Review, Fave, and Follow if you do! Or don't. Constructive Critisism is welcome. :3**

 **o**

One minute it's just a normal day and the next minute, absolute insanity.

This is the story of how the impossible became possible. How I bridged two universes and jumped the shark while doing so. Not to mention the other GIANT kick in the pants...

Anyway. It all started out on a normal day. And by 'normal' I mean an absolute downpour at the beginning of summer in Florida. Plenty of rain, wind, thunder, lighting... The whole nine. It would've stranded me at the bus stop had it not been for a tiny lapse of intensity that allowed me to just say 'screw it' and pedal through to my destination.

After all. The gym WAS only a mile or two away. And despite it being a Wal-Mart Wonder with mountain tires and MY 280-pound butt straddling the seat, I could still get my bike up to a nice twelve miles-per-hour or so. Suffice to say, that could get me to the gym in about five or ten minutes from where I started.

UN-fortunately, I didn't have that long, because by the time I got to the first light it was pouring again. Luckily, though, the light stayed green and I cruised right through the crosswalk onto the next sidewalk and kept going. And, thankfully, it didn't look like I'd have to stop at the second crosswalk, either.

But, as fate would have it... I never made it to that second crosswalk.

A flash, then pain -or was it pain and then a flash?- surrounded and filled my entire being before blackness took over just a split second into what could only be described as an explosion in my ears and head.

Was I... ? No. I couldn't be dead... Right? Wasn't there supposed to be something afterward?

A horrible screeching and a terrible blue tendril of fire seemed to answer my question as it reached out from beyond my comprehension in the void and grabbed me before pulling me towards an unknown destination.

I fought and kicked and writhed, thinking this was the end for me and that I was being brought to some kind of 'hell' for whatever I did in my meager nineteen years of existence until something passed me. A consciousness. A presence. It was distinct from myself, the void, and the tendril. Especially in the fact that it didn't seem 'active' or 'attentive' at the moment but had a sort of familiar aura about it that I couldn't quite pin down.

Then again, I guess that made sense since I died. If I DID remember things, it'd sure as heck at least be FOGGY for a while as my 'soul' or whatever reboots, right? Either way, it passed by just as quickly as I had gone from riding my bike to here. Only my own perception had slowed enough for me to sense it in the first place.

In any case, I could see something in the distance rapidly approaching as the tendril stream dragged me along. Some kind of shape or thing inside of a pink circle. Wait a minute. I've seen that circle before, that's a bubble!

 _ ****THWUMP****_

 **o**

Blackness. The first thing I registered was blackness. Darkness and numbness were all I could sense. It was like my body was shut off. I couldn't even remember what the last thing I remembered was.

Was there a last thing? Should there have been?

Was I new...? Or have I _been_ before...?

Either way, something quickly started to change. Sensations faded in. First, the feeling of having a body. A corporeal mind allowed me to organize some of my thoughts, and once I did that, I DID indeed know that I wasn't anything 'new'.

The last thing that happened... The last thing I remembered... GAAH, that was hard.

A distant, distorted sound pierced my concentration as more sensations and senses flooded in.

"St*&%^( )9en!"

 _Whaa?_

 **"STE^* &EN!"**

 _What's... Who?_

My eyes blinked open slowly several times, vision blurry. I was seeing doubles. Or, hextuples? Yeah, that made sense. Six blurry, oddly shaped figures, shifting and moving about in front of me with a yellowish-orangish-red background.

"Steven!" The voice yelled, distant and muffled, but clearer this time. This was the two thin figures in the center.

"Wh-who's S-Steven? W-where am I...?" I said drunkenly, unsure if the thought would actually come out in my voice.

"Pearl... Something's wrong." The two figures on the left said, looking quite strange wearing that box on their heads.

"Of COURSE something's wrong, GARNET! Steven almost DIED. IN SPACE!" The two stocky ones on the right retorted. At least these two looked a little more normal. Almost more than the first two, even...

"That's not what I mean! ... Gah, I can't SEE!" The left two replied, my tumbling vision starting to clear up as the middle two -err, one now?- started examining me and shaking me again.

"Steven!" Her concerned voice said once more, my mind snapping into place now as things started to ACTUALLY clear up, yet not quite connect all the dots, either.

"Wh-what? Who's Steven...? Where...Where am I?" I questioned, knowing for sure that the words came out this time, despite my own voice being foreign.

I now had the attention of all three of them, though I couldn't be certain with the one on the left given how her head was slightly turned and her eyes were covered with some kind of shades. She could've been looking at the other two for all I know. Her mouth formed a slight 'O' of surprise, though...

The middle one looked heavily concerned, now. A hand going to partially cover her mouth and her eyes getting wet and sad like she'd just seen something tragic and slightly disturbing.

The one on the right? Her mouth was openly agape and she seemed completely shocked.

"See!? I TOLD you there was something wrong!" The right one stated in defiance.

"Amethyst, hush." The left one cut her off.

Mrs. Middle just kept giving me that same look. But my mind was slowly starting to come together once more. Like the focusing all over again. Only these were memories rather than consciousness.

"Wait... Pearl... Garnet... Amethyst... And Steven..?" I mumbled, looking and slightly pointing at each of them -aside from the last, obviously- as I tried to muddle through the familiar names.

I now had all of their attention again. Garnet was straight faced, her mouth no longer 'o'd, Amethyst looked quite expectant, but also stoic, and Pearl just looked pretty much like she had a moment ago, only curious and no longer distraught.

Then it hit me. The realization snapped on like a light switch. Or, dare I say it, a bolt of cosmic lightning. I bet my eyes comically shrank at the pupils while widening in general. Like Steven in that one episode where Lars dissed his mom.

Only I wasn't mad...

Garnet suddenly gasped, Amethyst looked over at her, and Pearl changed only minutely as she noticed the change in ME and became expectant herself.

"Oh my god, I'm _inside_ Steven Fucking Universe..." I muttered to myself, utterly stunned into pulling blanks on how I should be responding to this emotionally.

"STEVEN!" Pearl squawked, scandalized that such a word could come out of Steven's mouth.

Only, it wasn't Steven's mouth... Not technically, at least. I mean, with me inside his body it would technically be _mine_ until he came back, but, as far as they were currently concerned; I was Steven. I had to actually check and be sure, too. Patting myself down, feeling my face, hair, body, clothes, and just LOOKING at the perspective around me. Yeah. There wasn't any doubt that I'd somehow landed in Steven's body here and I didn't know how to feel about that.

One the one hand, I knew I should secretly be excited. This kind of thing was generally considered impossible, and it happened to _ME,_ of all people.

But on the other hand, I'd _displaced_ an inhabit of one of my favorite universes and immediately caused distress among his family with my reaction to it.

Nevermind how I might be _dead_ back in MY universe.

And, to top it off, I seemed to have wound up at the tail end of the 'bubbled' episode... A very raw and emotional moment for Steven and the Gems. Man, was I feeling low. Any 'high' I'd built up in the last couple seconds was suppressed by the weight of reality.

My vision and hearing came back into focus to see Amethyst between trying not to laugh at Pearl and trying to seem stern towards me with Pearl apparently giving 'Steven' a lecture on cursing and wondering where 'he' even picked up such a word. I sighed when Birdmom finished her speech and averted my eyes for a second, debating on what to do for a short time as I nervously tapped my steven-fingers together.

"I picked it up in my own universe, Pearl. Sometime around when I was two or three, probably." I explained factually, my expression staying neutral but slightly apologetic for what was to come as I looked back up at them.

Pearl herself remained unchanged until she blinked once and her face seemed to reflect a total 'What in the actual hell?' expression like that lame Jackie Chan/Bruce Lee meme. Garnet's mouth popped open slightly and Amethyst just looked entirely too confused.

"I don't understand." Garnet stated simply.

"Wait, what?" Amethyst replied.

"Whoo?" Pearl brain-farted.

I sighed again, much more heavily this time before standing up and looking between all three of them. "I'm not Steven. I'm just some guy from another universe that _somehow_ landed in his body. I didn't mean to... It just kinda happened, I guess..." I explained, both a little solemn and apologetic. Mostly due to the circumstance and what it could mean for Steven, himself.

"I still don't understand. That's impossible!" Garnet, again. This time with a bit more emotion.

"Wait, so you're NOT Steven?" Amethyst asked for semi-oblivious confirmation.

"What do you mean you're not Steven! What do you _mean_ 'Just some guy that landed in his body'!? And how do you 'not mean to' do that? Nothing like that can just HAPPEN!" Pearl rapid-fired, affirmatively going off the rails from the get-go.

This time, I outright _groaned_ instead of sighing. I facepalmed, too, if that helps you visualize.

"Well, apparently a bolt of lighting that was charged, affected, or SENT by something in THIS damn universe caused it to happen. So don't even START to try blaming me for something that _is_ and WAS out of my control." I retorted immediately, quite simply unwilling to go through this when I thought -and hoped and dreamed- I'd MAYBE get to enjoy things for a split fucking second.

Or at least relax and not feel as bad...

"But what about STEVEN!? We don't where he is, or if he's okay, or how to get him back, or-"

"IT'S NOT MY FAULT!" I shouted, literally putting my foot down and stopping her rant cold as well as shocking the other two. Pearl looked like she had a flashback to when Steven himself said the exact same line in regards to Rose.

Okay, maybe I subconsciously used that on purpose a little, but it really WASN'T my fault. Even if you counted wishing for the impossible into the equation.

"Look, if I had the answers, I'd give them to you, but the fact of the matter is I don't... And I'm sorry, I really am... I actually thought something like this would be fun, and instead, it's hard.." I submitted, calming down and slipping into a downtrodden state in an instant as I sank cross-legged to the floor.

They all seemed to become thoughtful at that, apparently accepting what I'd just told them as the truth as well. After all, I wasn't lying to them. If I DID have control over it, I would've come in my own body and possibly tried to make friends with them naturally before coming clean about my origins.

Hell, I don't know. It's not like a nineteen-year-old human would exactly fit in around Steven, Connie, Greg, OR the gems...

"I don't get it." Amethyst started, seemingly out of nowhere. "If you're from another universe, how do you know about us. Our names, who and what we are, what's going on..." She trailed off, leaving it up to me to answer. I had to give it to her, she was more observant and smarter than people thought sometimes. Especially when it was something really important like this.

" _I_ want to know how you switched places with Steven in the first place." Garnet added, causing me to sigh for the third or fourth time at both questions, but mostly at Amethyst's since Garnet's was at least easily answered.

"Didn't Steven tell you about his psychic stuff?" I questioned. The three gems in front of me all nodded. He at least told them about the Lapis dreams, I know that much. "Well, if he HASN'T told you; There's more to it than just the Lapis-Jasper-Malachite dreams." I started. "He entered Kiki's mind-slash-dreamworld and helped her take care of some issues she had, and then even beyond THAT, Steven pretty much completely entered Lars' body and became him for a day." I explained. "Except, in THAT case, Lars' consciousness seemed to just be dormant since Lars never woke up inside STEVEN and controlled his body, and also had no memories of the day Steven spent as him." I finished, expertly dodging Amethyst's question with the sheer amount of information to give in regards to Garnet's question.

"Hmm. It would seem that Steven's power amplified and malfunctioned, then." Garnet tentatively deduced.

I shook my head wearily, regretful that she was wrong and reluctant to correct her. "No, I'm one-hundred percent certain Steven didn't play a part in this. I was being pulled by an external force that acted on both of us. And I could _feel_ his consciousness in some kind of void as we reached the middle and passed each other. He seemed dormant, but radiated fear, worry, sadness... loneliness... Behind that, his normal personality showed through, and it felt familiar to me. It was only after I just woke up and realized what happened that I connected the dots." I said.

"And what about this 'external force'?" Garnet questioned.

"The external force... It was scary. Powerful, chaotic and disturbed. Only semi-sentient. I have no idea what it was or where it came from, only that I could tell it was from THIS side of the transaction; from THIS universe..." I added, trepidly. "It actually reminded me of..." I paused, not wanting to say it out loud for Garnet, Ruby, and Sapphire's sake.

"Well, spit it out!" Amethyst pressured, Pearl agreeing with a "Yes. Please."

"It makes me think of something along the lines of corruptions being forced into fusion like the experimental shards at the Kindergarten..." I solemnly explained.

And just as I feared, all of them looked aghast. Both shock and fear appeared on their faces, but Garnet looked so much worse... And I couldn't even see her eyes. I immediately regretted it and almost jumped forward to HUG Garnet... I couldn't stand to see her crumble like she almost did in 'Keeping It Together', I just couldn't...

Her sudden tears were the final straw for me. I barely hesitated before standing again, murmuring Garnet's name as I approached her and gingerly took her hands in mine. "It's okay... It's not your fault..." I intoned, looking Garnet right in the visor to reassure her with the softest and most heartfelt expression I could muster. I could feel the emotions in my heart -and strangely, my gut- when I spoke to them. Even I was almost on the verge of crying.

"I... I need to.." Garnet hesitated, sniffling and wiping both sides of her face free of tears, bumping her visor aside in the process. "Pearl, please fly us home." The leader stated softly, readjusting the shades on her face and standing before walking off to find some kind of private area on the ship. The rest of us watched her in concern as she did so before Pearl slowly obliged Garnet and eventually made her way to the captain's chair.

"Amethyst, can you help me co-pilot?" Pearl requested, a little withdrawn with the delivery.

"Oh, y-yeah... Okay..." Amethyst replied, getting up from her kneeling position and making her way over to another chair before Pearl turned back to me.

"And Stev- Err, you... Could you please pull that lever over there?" Pearl asked.

"Yeah... My name's David, by the way..." I trailed off, Pearl looking at me for another three seconds before turning back to the controls and sighing as her face drooped into a depressed and resigned expression. It was just barely noticeable, but I caught it...

Either way, I exhaled through my nose in a heavy moment of release, trying to let go of all the feelings and process everything before whatever happened next came to be. I also made my way over to the lever that Pearl pointed out and gave it a good tug until it did what she wanted. The ship clunked, seemed to 'float' a little less stably, and then began to move with the input of both of its pilots.

After that, I simply turned and made my way to the furthest chair away from any of them. Including the place Garnet went to. If it was MY presence affecting them, I sure as heck didn't wanna make it worse. In any case, I hopped my little Steven body up onto my self-designated seat to settle in for the ride. It sure felt like it was gonna be a long trip.

Or, at least, an awkward one...

 **o**

 **A/N Redacted.**

 **~Drunk**


	2. Rollercoaster

**A/N Redacted.**

 **Enjoy the chapter!**

 **o**

It was surprisingly only about twenty minutes before the commandeered Ruby ship landed. Garnet had exited her hiding space moments earlier, leaving faint footprints that evaporated in seconds as she approached the console. "Land at the temple. We can keep Lapis and Peridot out of this for now." She instructed formally. Then again, most of how Garnet acted could be deemed 'formal' if not, nonchalant. Anyway, Pearl redirected the ship's course from its original landing zone of the barn and made her way towards the temple.

Garnet wasn't the only one that'd joined Pearl and Amethyst at the console. I'd gotten up and moved closer to the window when the ship broke the atmosphere and stabilized. After all, how likely would it have been that I got a chance to see the friggin earth from the edge of the atmosphere! Or space itself for that matter?

Not likely. So, despite the situation, I definitely took advantage of the view. My mind practically melded with the purest feeling of awe as I tried to look at absolutely everything I could see. There was no doubt that I had stars in my eyes and a smile wider than a semi-truck in Texas.

And descending to beach city? Hah! That made it even better. It just looked so much more REAL than I expected. Seeing it in person was OBVIOUSLY _completely_ different from a cartoon, but the sheer, stunning, panoramic euphoria that filled my vision was even more than I ever dreamed of.

Speaking of which. Taking a second look at the gems, the effect was much the same. It reminded me of the gravity of the situation again, sure, but the visage of Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl standing amidst a control panel on the Ruby ship -with ME inside experiencing it all- was almost too much for my nerd mind to handle.

It seemed that delayed reactions would be the centerpoint of my experience for the immediate future.

Anyway. I looked back at the temple -and, more importantly, Steven's house- now that we were landing in front of it and promptly melted into fangirl jelly, murmuring things like "Beach city..." and "Steven's house..." and then, when I saw that big pink floof...

"LION!" I shouted, jumping off the console and darting towards the door as the Ruby ship settled. I pushed on the metal portal about three times before realizing there was a lever that I should pull. By now, I had the attention of the gems again. Specifically Pearl.

"STEVE- I mean, DAVID! Wait until the ship's landed! Don't endanger Steven's body!" Birdmom fired off, all of it going in one ear and out the other for me as I yanked the lever and leaped out onto the beach before sprinting around the ship, up the sandy incline, up the STAIRS, and then RIGHT into Lion's mane.

Yeah. In my excitement, I completely forgot exactly how the pink feline worked and ended up running RIGHT into his pocket dimension. He didn't even look like he budged an inch the whole time I charged him.

But now, on the inside of Lion's mane? My mind went from energized to stunned and wondrous once again. It was positively... Majestic in there. Like a plain or tundra of pink grass and gentle breezes. Off in the distance, I could see the pink tree hill. Two fluttering objects adorned the hill, one hanging from the tree, and one seemingly next to it. In addition to this, a big lump sat off slightly to the side, making the scene ALMOST complete aside from the missing sword and previously bubbled gem.

Of course, I knew what all these things were, and, of course, why the two missing items were missing. But that certainly wasn't going to stop me from exploring.

Unfortunately, a pair of hands and a lack of oxygen WOULD stop me. And pull me back out of the strange pocket dimension to the -relatively- real world.

I immediately inhaled a double lungful of air and twisted around to face them. "LION'S MAAANNE!" I exclaimed excitedly. "I wasn't even TRYING to go in there!" I added, my newfound glee still quite obvious as I partially ignored their expressions and reactions.

But the awkwardness quickly settled in as I saw that they were -for the most part- unreceptive to my enthusiasm.

"WHOMP WHOMP!" I quacked out of nowhere to break the tension, causing Amethyst to crack and chuckle while Pearl forcefully held it in with a hand over her mouth.

"This isn't a game!" Garnet piped up, frowning at us all. We shut up immediately, nonetheless, but I couldn't tell if that was directed more at me or Pearl and Amethyst given how they caved to my infectious new attitude. "You said so, yourself. We have to find a way to get Steven back, immediately." The fusion scolded, turning and opening the door to the house before proceeding inside and heading towards the warp pad/temple area.

"Now, Garnet..." Pearl started.

"The dude said he was struck by _lightning,_ G. Give him a break." Amethyst interrupted, chiming in on both her AND Pearl's behalf.

THAT, combined with Pearl's agreement actually took a bit of the emotional stress away. I didn't exactly expect them to be receptive at all, least of which, Pearl. Especially given her performance on the ship.

" _HE_ can do whatever he wants. _WE_ need to figure out what happened and how to get Steven back." The leader clarified, both of her compatriots going 'oh' in realization of the misunderstanding and following her towards the temple door.

My initial analysis on who would be the least receptive to this whole fiasco was quickly beginning to change.

"Hey, wait. What am _I_ supposed to do?" I asked from the middle of the main room, causing Pearl and Amethyst to stop and turn to look at me before glancing between themselves and then deciding to answer.

"Just... Don't get into any trouble. And keep Steven's body fed. And clean. And free of any... blockages." Pearl instructed. I almost wanted to deadpan at her until she made the comment about 'blockages'.

I outright snickered at that. "Sure thing, Pearl. That won't be a problem." I assured her, coming down from the mirth she instilled with her classic aversion to human bodily functions.

"Oh, and try _not_ to talk to anybody..." She added, killing my mood the rest of the way before turning around and heading towards the door just as Garnet called for them again.

Just then, however, I suddenly remembered something from 'earthlings' that might be important. "Amethyst!" I called out, jogging to catch up with her just before she disappeared into the temple door. She turned just as I got there and I went right for her ear without even hesitating. "Uhh, did you tell Pearl and Garnet about Smokey?" I asked, causing the small Quartz to tense up and look at me with alarm.

"Uhh, noo! Steven and I were going to surprise them!" She whisper-shouted. "How do you even know about that? _Wait!_ YOU AVOIDED ANSWERING ME, EARLIER!" Amethyst exclaimed, getting interrupted when Garnet shouted "AMETHYST!" from inside the temple, sufficiently distracting her and forcing her to drop the subject.

"We're not finished with this. And I'm not going to forget it again." Amethyst promised me, stepping through the temple door and disappearing.

"Okay! I promise I won't say anything about the thing!..." I shouted after her, progressively deflating throughout the statement due to how she flipped on me.

 **o**

After that, I was left in an awkward silence with myself as the room went still. Much like before in the ship, I didn't exactly have time to truly take in my surroundings. But now, being left basically to my own devices -with a few caveats- I had more than enough time and freedom to fully enjoy the scope of the situation and allow myself to relax and be happy with it.

It started with one of those cringy fangirl squees of excitement before divulging into giddy laughter as I sprinted across the warp pad and back into the main living space. "Steven's house!" I exclaimed, throwing my hands up as my eyes darted to everything in an attempt to frantically pick out my next target.

Running around the counter and to the fridge, I opened it up and gave a nice jubilant smile to whatever was in there. "Steven's fridge!" I continued, swinging it shut and hop-twisting around before jumping up and climbing onto the ledge. "Steven's COUNTER!" I sighed happily, laying stomach-down on it and making a mock 'snow angel' before rolling off and landing on the floor.

The coffee table and couch were my next victims. Using the first as a springboard, I ran forward and jumped onto the couch like a stuntman would jump into a safety inflatable on a movie set. "STEVEN'S... COOOOUUUCCH!" I called loudly, pausing between the two words during my run up and then drawing out 'couch' as I sailed through the air and safely crashed into it with a haphazard tuck and flip thrown in as a garnish. Not to be confused with garNET, of course.

I giggled with glee and writhed on the white piece of furniture to the point that I actually rebounded off of it. I stopped immediately when I realized just how well I could bounce on the thing and quickly made to stand up on it. "It's springy AND comfortable!" I said, reveling in this discovery before putting it to the test mere moments later and falling into another fit of giggling as I used the couch like a trampoline and progressively bounced higher and higher with every jump.

And after getting as high as I could without hitting my head?

Well, it was then that I gradually accumulated more and more hang time with every bounce. It took a grand total of FIVE leaps after the five or ten original ones before I wound up coming back down slowly enough to notice I was defying gravity. I opened my eyes and looked down and then around me as I gently floated back down to the couch like a helium balloon that had hung around for a couple of days.

When I landed, I looked down at my hands wondering how in creation I managed to do that, my eyes starry but also wet and nearing tearful.

 _Could I use more of Steven's powers? Should I use them? Should I even try?_

 _Should I keep this a secret and not do it again? Should I not go for anything more ambitious?_

 _Why am I here? What does this mean?_

 _What's happening?_

 _Did I die and... get a second chance..?_

 _Am I... meant to replace Steven...?_

 **o**

 _Meanwhile, inside the temple:_

"Garnet. We don't even know how he got here or why. There's no way we can fix an unknown problem!" Pearl tried to reason, feeling just as distressed as the Crystal Gem leader was due to Steven being displaced by David, but also trying to maintain some level of rationality about it so they could -hopefully- expedite the solution.

"Gaah, I know that!" Garnet huffed distressedly, groaning a second later in frustration. "If only I could _SEE_!" She added in a grumble, alerting Amethyst and Pearl to the problem.

"Wait. What do you mean 'if only I could see'?" The purple Quartz questioned.

"Ever since that light exploded where we found Steven's bubble, I haven't been able to use my future vision for anything useful." The fusion explained.

"Well, did you try-" Pearl started, getting interrupted by a sudden look from the taller gem.

"Yes. I defused on the ship, and even Sapphire couldn't use it. For her alone, it was only marginally clearer and still not any more useful." Garnet stated bluntly, causing the other two to go quiet at that.

"What should we do?" Pearl said, breaking the silence after several long moments.

"What _CAN_ we do?" Amethyst asked desperately, with an undertone of frustration.

"We go back out." Garnet replied levely. "We take the ship back into space and search the area where we found Steven's bubble for the source of that light." She explained. "THAT was most likely the cause of this trouble." The fusion added.

"Garnet, go easy on the guy. He's not trouble..." Amethyst trailed off, only a hint of uncertainty buried in the sound of her voice as she tried to defend their 'guest'.

"We don't know that." Garnet quipped. "Despite telling us the truth and taking it seriously at first, he treated it like a game when we landed." She explained. "Not to mention how he seems to KNOW a lot about us and the things that go on around here. How do you explain that?" The fusion posed.

"I know, I know... I've already decided to grill him about it when I get the chance." Amethyst clarified.

"Good. Then you can stay here and do that while Pearl and I take the ship to go searching." Garnet declared, standing up and simply moving forward, both literally AND with the plan.

Pearl, on the other hand, wasn't so sure. "Uhh, Garnet..? Don't you think maybe St- err, David himself might be the key to this?" She stated tentatively, getting a look from Garnet that could be nothing less than a stern 'explain..' as said gem turned to acknowledge her.

"I just think that maybe... examining him, might lead to a discovery..." Pearl trailed off, bringing up a fair point and causing Garnet to re-think part of the strategy.

"Fine. We'll go searching first, and then if we don't find anything, we'll come back and see what we can find with David, himself." The leader agreed, heading towards the door again with Pearl and Garnet in tow several paces behind.

 **o**

 _Back in the house..._

I'd ended up in the bathroom feeling distant and sick. After having to pee, I just stayed in there, pulling 'my' legs up to 'my' chest and wrapping 'my' arms around them to try holding myself together. Being able to access Steven's abilities... It made sense -in a logical sort of way- but it just felt wrong to me.

I distantly heard the door to the temple open, followed by barely audible muted footprints and then a mixed gasp between three sources. _"Where is he!?"_ Garnet half-barked, Pearl following up with a hesitant and somewhat terrified "David?" as she too seemed to be in distress about where I could've wondered off to.

 _'Well, time to face the music, I guess...'_ I thought to myself, resigning to bury my own discontention for now, even if just to reassure the gems. "I'm in here, guys." I called out, Steven's voice shockingly foreign to me again, now.

In any case, I could practically hear AND feel all of the attention turning to the bathroom door as I slid off the closed toilet seat and padded over to open it. "Had to pee. Sorry if I worried you..." I explained, drastically different from the jubilant mood I was in earlier.

They seemed to notice, too.

Their eyes stayed on me for just a few seconds too long, making the whole situation sorta tense, uncomfortable, and awkward before Garnet became the first to break it with a sigh, an eye rub with one hand, and a simple advance towards the door as she made her way out with an explanation called behind her for my sake. "Pearl and I are going out. Amethyst is staying here, with you." The fusion explained.

Now. I have absolutely no idea how I came to the conclusion that I did. Maybe it was the possibly fake, possibly real 'original storyboard animation' that showed the Sardonyx dance containing a kiss between them. And maybe it was my odd emotional state that was searching for some kind of positive hope or _something_ like a needy little misdirector, but what I said next was VERY stupid.

"Wait, since when are you two 'going out'?" I questioned somewhat suggestively, causing garnet to stop, pause, and look back at me. This was followed by Pearl stiffening from a few feet behind HER and putting both hands to her mouth -while undoubtedly blushing- and keeping her back to me.

I was thoroughly confused by their reactions. But when I turned to see Amethyst's mouth-agape expression it instantly hit me, and I facepalmed at my own blunder.

"Oh, geez, crap, I-I am SO sorry! I didn't mean- I mean I _KNOW_ that  you ARE a relationship, and that YOU don't- and I mean you loved..." I fumbled on, only being stopped when Amethyst got her wits about her again and moved forward to restrain me. And, more importantly, my running mouth.

Pearl had managed to turn around about when I realized my mistake, and by now, Garnet was just sighing and shaking her head. "Don't worry about it. You seem about as stressed as the rest of us." She commented, seemingly thawing to me just a bit as she realized it wasn't all Cookie Cats and Fry-Bits for me, either. In the current state of things, that is...

"We'll be back." Garnet said simply, Pearl having pushed past her to get a head start on whatever they were doing while also escaping the embarrassment as soon as she could.

Amethyst let go of me and I tentatively agreed with "Uhh, okay.." as the tall fusion stepped out the screen door and let it swing shut before descending the stairs back down towards the beach. A quick relocation to the big window coupled with the sound of alien engines firing up alerted me fairly bluntly to what was intended by the whole 'Pearl and I are going out' thing.

I watched Garnet board, and then watched the Ruby-ship disappear into the sky. Amethyst had joined me mere moments before they were out of sight, and we both watched the spot the two gems disappeared into for a while longer before the purple Quartz finally spoke up.

"So. How's about that explanation?"

 **o**

 **Whelp, that's it for chapter 2. Cutting it at the 'standardized' 3k for this one since it felt like a good stopping point.** **Coming chapters might be longer. Depends on how they feel at the time. I'll shoot for 3k-5k words, but no more than 6k or 7k max. I mean,** **Long chapters make ME procrastinate reading, so I can only imagine how others might feel. Then again, too short and it's like "what's the point?" while also being a total tease, too.**

 **Anyway, Review, Favorite, and Follow if you enjoyed. Or even if you didn't. Constructive Critisism can make bad fics good, and good fics great, after all. :3**

 **Have a good one!**

 **~Drunk**


	3. Turbulence

**A/N:**

 **Nothing to see here besides chapter 3 ;P**

 **I'm now making a rule of no more pre-chapter A/N's.** **They distract from and hold up the story, IMO.**

 **o**

"So... How about that explanation?" Amethyst stated expectantly, turning slightly to face me front on as she crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. A chill ran up my spine and I was immediately filled with a mixture of trepidation and unease. I wasn't scared of _Amethyst,_ really, but more of how she and the others would take it.

What the heck was I supposed to really SAY in this situation? I didn't want to lie to them, especially after coming clean about what happened in the first place, but it's not exactly like I could just say 'Hey, you're all from a friggin cartoon about Steven's life! It's like Little Butler for you, don't worry.' *sarcastic :P face*

I cringed immediately and tried to think of an alternate way out of this, something I could come up with or some kind of excuse to give to either put it off or hang it up entirely. But I couldn't. Amethyst's presence, despite her meager 4-foot-tall stature, was stifling in the solitary environment of Steven's house. Her impatient foot tapping to mark the time wasn't making it any easier, either.

"Well?" The small Quartz piped up after several seconds of my tense silence, her foot stopping as she broke the awkward tension.

"Amethyst, I can't." I told her, my chest feeling heavy at the weight of reality. My eyes betrayed me by trying to well up with tears behind the scenes.

"Can't or won't?" She quipped, getting a little more than just impatient with me, now. "You come out of nowhere, IN Steven's body, know our names and who _knows_ what else about us and you just expect me -or Garnet or Pearl for that matter- to just let it go because you 'can't' tell us?" Amethyst lectured scathingly, a bitter taste forming in my mouth -like eating a battery or a bunch of coins- as I was procedurally backed further into a corner.

"I SHOULDN'T!" I stopped her, the difference from my previous word giving her a pause enough for me to elaborate a bit. "Gahh! It's not even that I can't or won't! It would be almost _too easy_ just **TO** say it. I _want_ to, Amethyst, I do, but because of what it is, I  shouldn't." I explained, pulling back the intensity in my voice as my fear returned and I clammed up a bit again. "It's... wrong... It would be too much. Too unsettling..." I add, letting my actual feelings on the subject come out. Though, in hindsight, I suppose I was taking the decision away from them. The good ole' "I know better for you" and "It's for your own good" arguments.

"So, what? You don't _trust_ us to handle the truth?" Amethyst cracked, the tension in her voice palpable in the air. And she wasn't entirely wrong, either.

"No! I just don't want to deal with the fallout! I don't want to complicate things or make something worse. There's enough CRAP in my life, Amethyst, I don't need more! I just want to **enjoy** something for once!" I blurted, those stupid tear ducts of mine -err, Steven's- betraying me at the last second.

The stillness left over in the room was only interrupted by the distant sound of waves and the gentle breeze of the salty afternoon wind to accompany the radiant heat of the sun reflecting off the sand down below. Amethyst stood in a sort of aggressive but defensive pose, trying to appear stoic and hardheaded to me but it didn't last. The next thirty seconds I spent sniffling and trying to get my eyes to dry up were matched with Amethyst's expression and posture slowly melting and smoothing out as she saw the sincerity in my emotions.

In a way, we were obviously alike, and she seemed to cave to the sympathy and empathy she must've felt due to her own life being trying at times. I knew pretty much every one of those times from recent history, but that wasn't extremely relevant at the moment.

Finally, the purple gem sighed, stepping back fully from her stance and averting her eyes sideways. "Fine. I won't push. But Garnet and Pearl are gonna want answers, as well as anyone _else_ that finds out..." She explained, the throbbing in my chest easing slightly as she gave up. "Is there anything you can say?" Amethyst asked.

That, at first, seemed difficult. What COULD I or SHOULD I come up with? That I knew them and we were friends? That I was from a future or past timeline? Maybe I read about them in history?

"W-well... I know all of you? But.. None of you know me... Could I even really put it like that?" I questioned myself out loud, sniffling again as the waterworks ceased. "No... Maybe it's more like I _feel_ as if I know you, since, well... I never actually meet or have met you guys until now." I tell her, earning a scoff, an eye roll, and a half growl from Amethyst.

"You know what? Nevermind. This isn't funny anymore, Steven." Amethyst stated, noticeably vexed with me all of a sudden as she crossed her arms.

"Wait, what? Steven? I thought you listened to me..." I replied, a little hurt and perplexed.

"Yeah, well I'm starting to wonder WHY. Or at least why I didn't call it out when Garnet and Pearl left." She went on, pausing to huff before continuing. "I mean, come ON! This is _stupid!_ How could it have been 'funny' at all!?" The compact quartz continued.

"It's NOT, this is serious, Amethyst. _I'M_ serious!" I retorted harsly, getting quickly annoyed at her flip flop. And to think, she was being so nice, she even stood up for me. Did she really think it was all fake the whole time? Did something meld her mind for the hour that I've been around only to wear off now so she, and probably the other gems, can supposedly 'come to their senses' like this?

"Would you just cut it OUT already!? OF COURSE it's 'serious', Steven! You already have Garnet and Pearl out in SPACE again looking for some stupid thing that probably didn't even happen in the first place! That light was probably just one of those dumb rubies poofing!" Amethyst barked, on the verge of hysterical and obviously battling me for this.

"Oh, really. Because gems make LIGHT when they poof and not smoke. Or is it dust? I'm not entirely fucking sure since it's never explicitly stated on THE GODDAMN SHOW!" I snarked back, turning the last part into a shout as well as punctuating all of the last three words.

Amethyst was taken aback for a split second, probably shocked that I -or "Steven"- had now said TWO curses in a row. In the same sentence. Either way, she quickly recovered and after a moment of flustered stuttering blurted out "What show!?"

"Oh, gee, I don't know tiny tike, the show you all come from. The show in MY realm that I admire. The show originally created by Rebecca Sugar, with voice talent of Estelle, Michaela Dietz, and Deedee Magno Hall, who are Garnet, You, and Pearl, respectively. The show literally named after its main character; Steven Universe!" By now I was fuming on the inside with only my sarcasm and frustration to show on the outside. I could feel my borrowed tear ducts wanting to betray me again as they always did. I seemed to still have that stupid defect where I cried when I got too angry. What a loser that must make me look like...

Amethyst was at a complete and total loss by now, looking at me as though I had literally lost my mind. Which was technically true, the only way it wouldn't be would be if whatever brought me here literally put my brain inside Steven's head like when Timmy Turner swapped minds with a dog in that one Fairly Oddparents episode. I highly doubt that's the case here, though.

Anyway, her astounded look didn't last long as the overcooked Amethyst quickly changed to aggravatedly trying to strangle the air while grinding her teeth and making some kind of cross between a grunt and a growl at me. "THAT'S IT, I'M OUT!" She suddenly barked, throwing both arms up into the air in exasperation as she stalked towards the temple door, said entryway opening to her room as she turned around from just inside and leveled and angry glare at me with crossed arms. "You can deal with Garnet and Pearl yourself! I'm not helping!"

And with that, the door shut and she was no longer there.

As the air stilled and my eyes dried, I realized I was holding a tense breath and two balled fists at my sides. Blinking at once, I forcefully relaxed my grip and tried to de-tense the muscles in this borrowed body of mine while exhaling the air to try aiding that process. _'This is FUCKED!'_ I thought angrily, despite trying to decompress just a second ago. _'Man, forget this. I'm not sticking around here. They can come find me when their oh so great collaborative fucking effort can either figure this all out or decide to not be aggro anymore.'_ I mentally huffed, turning around and heading towards the door before stopping to check the pockets in the pants I was wearing.

 _'Phone, wallet, a key. Great. Almost like I'm in my OWN body. Only half the height and NONE of the familiarity...'_ I quipped mentally, turning just to get a quick glance at any possibly 'common areas' where money might be. _'Huh. Top of the fridge. Figures...'_ I mused, walking over and jumping up to the top of said appliance and snatching the jar there before I fell back down.

I quickly unscrewed the lid and took out the thirteen dollars and twenty-seven cents that was in it, not even bothering to really notice or care how different the money looked and stuffing it in the left pocket of Steven's pants. Screwing the lid back on and leaving it on the counter, I half-stalked right out the door and down the stairs. If I had to leave to get peace, then I was getting something while I was out.

Gems be damned. I'm not gonna be a prisoner.

Not to anger, not to distrust, not to this world, and not to this body...

 **o**

Space. The empty decrepit vacuum of mostly nothingness that was somehow so vast that even DESPITE the vacancy, it still housed BILLIONS of galaxies, which housed TRILLIONS of stars, which supported QUADRILLIONS of planets. Probably more. And with the fact that this was only one of MANY universes, timelines, and realms, the number of all of the aforementioned bodies and gatherings was literally both limitless and inconceivable.

Of course, for the two alien beings inside of the small red ship just out of reach of Earth's orbit, they weren't quite entirely aware of that fact, yet. Nor would they be focused on it if they were. No, Garnet and Pearl already had priorities in mind. They were out here looking for Steven's bubble. Or, at rather, where it USED to be since they already picked him up.

With him claiming to be someone else after recovering from a near death experience.

Steven almost dying in space was frightening enough, but to have him wake up with abnormal memories followed by immediately CURSING -of all things- that he was inside of himself and then claiming to be someone else was off of the crazy SCALE!

And then, they just ACCEPTED IT! LIKE THAT!

How could they!? How was it even POSSIBLE that they just went along with something so brash, something so neurotic and unstable? They just flew back to earth like that was the new reality, and then flew back out to try to find the REASON it happened!

As if the reason was just SITTING THERE, right where it WAS! Right where HE was! Was what they saw even what they first assumed it was? Amethyst SAID it was a light... Or was that Garnet?

Pearl couldn't decide anymore. Too much was running through her head too quickly for her to really make sense of it all and if she didn't say something soon, the poor gem felt she might POOF under the pressure.

"Garnet!" The former servant blurted, backtracking and covering her mouth a split second before the fusion herself turned around from the captain's chair to address her.

"What." Garnet said simply, more of an affirmation to continue than an actual question.

"Why are we doing this? Why are we out here?" Pearl questioned.

"To find out why David is in Steven's body. To try to find a way to get him back." The Crystal Gem leader replied.

"But how do we know if that's the truth? How do we know if any of that was real? Why did we-" Pearl started, being interrupted by Garnet now.

"Just up and believe what we were told off the bat, bringing Steven -or "David"- back home and then promptly flying off into space to search for an unknown element that might not even be there, risking leaving a possibly mentally fragile Steven -or "David"- back at home with Amethyst and basically free run and will while we're gone...?" The taller of the two dragged on, almost quite literally voicing Pearl's thoughts aloud.

"Err... Yes..." Pearl confirmed, her admission falling flat in a sort of guilty tone when she said it.

"I don't know. All I DO know is that I still can't see much into the future and that WE were also somehow affected by this event. Whether or not Steven is "David" or if there's something else going on with him doesn't matter. Amethyst will keep him safe -relatively speaking- and we have to look for that light. It HAS to be connected to this, I can just _feel_ it." Garnet explained, a tense undertone in her otherwise rational explanation.

Pearl was quiet for several moments before the awkward atmosphere in the ship got to her and the silence was broken like glass. "Are you sure...?" She posed simply.

Garnet's grip on the controls tightened as her lips pulled back to reveal her teeth pressed tightly together.

"YES!" Garnet snapped, growling a little as she became frustrated. "No! RRgghh, I don't know!" She contradicted herself, upset that she couldn't be certain of anything right now. "It doesn't matter! We're already out here! What are we going to do, just turn around and go back only for it to happen again, or worse?" The fusion continued, every muscle tense in her body as she tried to keep it together.

"But... What if.. What if he's just.. hurt? What if it's still Steven, only nearly dying in space caused him to... defect or something?" Pearl hypothesized. "Human beings have a whole variety of mental and emotional disorders that can arise from trauma. What if he has PTSD, or that THING where they forget their whole lives and subconsciously create a new one to cope! Wasn't there a movie about that!?" The ex-renegade went on, sounding much more like an overprotective mother hen than a slave turned terrifying renegade warrior.

"IT DOESN'T MATTER! ALL THAT MATTERS IS FINDING OUT ABOUT THAT LIGHT!" The fusion outright shouted, now twitching and glitching as her components struggled to the very limit to keep her together. "Even if it's TRUE, even if it IS just Steven with some problem that we don't understand, that LIGHT STILL CAUSED IT!" Garnet barked again after taking a few seconds to sort herself out.

"It HAD to. If it could make us so easily susceptible to suggestion AND block out my vision like it did, there's no telling what it could do to Steven. The ONLY thing I know is that... Is that I'm scared... and angry... and that we need to find out how to fix this..." She was now in tears, halfway to sobbing as she shook with the conflicting emotions roiling inside her.

Pearl had moved from her chair to Garnet's side, kneeling down and resting a supportive hand on one of the fusion's, gently prying it off the controls to grasp it gently between both of hers. Garnet's gauntlets dissipated, she having no knowledge that they'd formed in the first place as she took her other hand off the controls to hold Pearls' hands together in a way that only TRUE love bound family would understand.

Garnet's visor disappeared as she looked into Pearl's eyes with all three of hers. "I need your help, Pearl. _WE_ need you... To help stay together... All of us.. I need you." She huffed brokenly, an unsteady breath leaving her as she tried to calm down again.

"Okay..." Pearl surrendered. "Okay." She paused. "I trust you..."

...

Not a second after the two had come to and understanding and smiled at one another did a series of disfigured and erratic explosions light flash in the distance.

 _flash flash_

 _flash-flash, flash, flash_

 _FLLLLAAAAASSSSHHHHHHH_

The bursts were accompanied by one continuous three-second shockwave of turbulence, all of which immediately had the attention of both gems on board the space ship.

"There." Garnet said stoically, her focus regained as her visor reappeared on her face and she took the controls again.

"Here we go..." Pearl mumbled uneasily, standing and holding the back of Garnet's chair as the fusion drove them forward towards the source of the lights, which seemed to be continuing in tiny infinitesimal sparks compared to the original blasts.

As they got closer the intensity of the light show dulled down even further until it was BLUE instead of white like it had been. And then even further until it changed from flashes to a shuddering point of broidling blue fury with tendrils of pulsating energy radiating out from it that looked like writhing vines or tentacles.

"What on Earth..." One of them said, the other one obviously thinking it given the look on her face.

"Get closer to it, I think there's something else there.." Pearl noted, squinting in the light to try and make out what it was while Garnet maneuvered their 'borrowed' ship closer, still. Both of them noted how the tendrils retracted into the center of the light the closer they got to it, causing the light to get brighter there until it flashed one last time and solidified as a tiny mishappen ball of bright blue, seemingly in some kind of containment just floating there in space.

Of all things that could've happened next, a BICYCLE bunked into the windshield on the space ship, gently deflecting off and floating towards the light as Pearl became perplexed and distracted by the event. "Whaaaa? How did something like THAT get out _here_?" She questioned, not remembering of any HUMAN space program or launch that had a mountain bike sent with it.

Either way, Garnet's attention was pulled to the other object now brushing along the windshield of the Ruby ship. A backpack. One that was every so slowly rotating from the friction the ship provided until the 'face' of it -the part with all the compartments and zippers- turned around to show a name clearly printed on it with a small hand towel tied to the carry loop on top.

 _David_

That was the name on the backpack.

Aside from the light, nothing else seemed to matter as Garnet snapped back into reality, quickly pulling the ship back and activating the tractor beam in the direction of the blue light.

The movement of the ship brought Pearl back, too, who quickly asked Garnet what she was doing. "Nevermind. Get ready to guide it in." The latter instructed, lining things up perfectly and hitting the necessary sequence of buttons to trap the atmosphere in the ship, open the front hatch, and activate the tractor beam to pull everything in.

Pearl noded and focused on the task at hand. First came some dirt. That was useless, so she let ignored it as a car bumper followed after. Another peculiar curiosity, but not -Pearl thought- what Garnet meant.

Next came the bike. Possible... Pearl grabbed it and set it down -shredded, blown up tires and all- before straightening and reaching out to grab the next thing.

 _David_

It was the bookbag. With _HIS_ name on it.

 _'No...'_ Pearl thought blankly for a moment, a pang of dread shooting through the core of her being as she tried to cope with and contemplate what this meant. It was too late, though. The bag dropped to the floor of the ship in a lump as it breached the interior and exited the tractor beam.

And what came behind it was far more 'alarming' in the traditional sense, anyway. It was the light. The thing that had supposedly caused all of this.

Only, it wasn't a light. No... As the tractor beam finished, the door to the ship closed, and the thing fell out of the air towards the ship's floor, it was quite obvious this thing was, in fact, a gem. The light it produced had settled and died down, and aside from the ever so subtly slow movement of energy INSIDE it, Pearl dared to say it almost looked NORMAL, too.

Either way, whether she meant to or not, Garnet had gotten everything around the light source, as well as the light, itself and was by Pearl's side in an instant, examining the object of their mission, which was now nestled perfectly in Pearl's delicate hands.

"It's..." The fusion trailed off, a little more shocked by this discovery in the moment than Pearl since the latter had a few seconds to understand it.

"It's a gem..."

 **o**

 **A/N:**

 **Okay, so... Firstly, I have to apologize for not updating this sooner. Only working temp-labor and not having to go to school while mostly chilling at home all day leaves me with no excuse to not have had this up any later than 2-3 weeks after editing and recompiling chapters 1 and 2.**

 **That said, long-term depression, and other mental/emotional problems as well as living with people whom I feel are holding me back and causing mental blocks is a real SOB.**

 **Still not an excuse, and definitely not an excuse to do it again, it's just what happened. So I DEEPLY apologize to all of you readers, and I hope I can do better in the future because Steven Universe is life and I want this story to be one of my great achievements.**

 **And to answer the guest reviews and anyone who's confused; Steven's consciousness is dormant while David's consciousness is inhabiting his body. Taking out David would return Steven to normal. The problem is "how do you do that, and what happens afterward, specifically to David, himself".**

 **And THAT is why the fic is a fic. Right?**

 **Anyway, guys. Questions, comments, support, love, hype, hate, whipping me into shape etc. It all goes in the reviews, right down here VVV**

 **And THANK YOU for your patience, guys. Really. It means a lot. I hope you haven't given up on me. =3**

 **Review, Follow, Fave. All that good stuff.**

 **Have a good one!**

 **~Drunk**


End file.
